


Underwater

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux is So Done, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Hux isn't awful here, I do love a good poisoning, I swear, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Loss of Virginity, Marriage (Eventually), Multi, Oh yeah Phasma survived, Post TLJ, Protective Kylo Ren, Rey Needs A Hug, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, That's Not How The Force Works, The Force, The Force Ships It, The Knights of Ren deserve more recognition, We like the Grey side of the Force, Why? Because I like her, eventual pregnancy, posioning, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “You drown, not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.” - Paulo CoelhoThree months have passed since they'd fought together in Snoke's throne room. Since they'd betrayed each other's visions of the future. Since they'd both shut out their bond. But the Force has a will of its own and a chance meeting on Hoth leads to the shattering of more than just the ice beneath their feet. Only time can determine if they rebuild the shards of their bond or drown in the mistakes of the past. Time they do not have.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Shattering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> So I haven't written for this fandom yet but I've done quite a bit of reading and thought I might as well take a stab at the ideas running around in my head. I've never written something of this rating so I'll appreciate commentary when the rating goes into real effect. I'll make sure to tag those chapters when they come. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

**“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart." - Suzanne Collins**

* * *

Leia said this place was a planet, an important one at that, and this mission should be simple. A grab and go of information left on base the last time the Resistance resided there. The wind whipped around her as she and Finn trekked across the frozen wasteland toward the remnants of Echo base. Rey buried her face deeper into the thick parka Leia had handed her, remembering the knowing look Leia had with a smile. While it seemed like a planet, the place was more like her personal hell than anything.

The arrival of _his_ ships ensured this would be anything but a simple mission. 

Rey and Finn dashed for cover near the doors of Echo base. Resistance fighters began firing on the sleek black TIE ships entering the atmosphere. The force rippled around her and Rey knew he was there. Panic settled in her stomach. She hadn’t felt him in the force since she’d shut the door of the Falcon on him. 

Since they had both slammed their sides of the bond closed. 

Since the bone-deep loneliness she tried to ignore had settled in.

No. No, he’d chosen his path and refused her offer to help him to the light side. They were enemies, now more than they’d ever been before.

A TIE fighter blazed overhead and she felt his signature darkness radiating from within. She steeled her resolve. This was the whole reason she’d been brought along, a safety measure in case everything went side-ways and he found them. 

She should have known that everything always went sideways when she was involved.

“Go,” Rey gestured toward the doors and willed herself to calm her own emotions. Finn glanced at her and then above as the sound of a fighter landing swept over them. Nodding, Finn dashed toward the doors. Rey pulled out her newly crafted saber staff, already cursing the lack of mobility the parka allowed her. One deep breath was all the pause she allowed herself before moving from the cover to face _him_. 

He’d landed atop a small mound a hundred feet away and Rey bristled at the difference in height. Like he needed to be taller. His familiar cloak snapped in the wind around his dark form and his mask stared coldly in her direction. Good. That would make this easier. She threw up every mental barrier she could. He wouldn’t be given the chance to tempt her again. Blue and red lit up the swirling snow in the fading light of Hoth’s sun. Rey charged first.

They clashed in a blaze of light and fury. No words were spoken, none were needed. The two of them already knew everything they had to. Crossing blades was the only familiarity they’d ever need. Anger crackled in the force between them. 

His blade slashed down and her staff spun to stop him. Forcing him back, she went low and when he blocked, came from above with her second blade. Narrowly dodging a blow to the shoulder, he cut across, aiming for her stomach. Rey tried to twist away but the parka hindered her movements and his blade sliced through the thick fabric. Stumbling back, he came down again. Her blade locked with his.

A fighter blazed across the sky.

She shoved against him wanting, no, needing more space between them then the scant few inches their position allowed. He pushed back, his saber’s blade humming in her ear and warming the side of her throat through the parka. 

An explosion snapped at the force around them, neither having any choice but to look to their left. The fighter crashed into one of the looming mounds of ice and snow. For a heartbeat, it was still. Then gravity tore it all down. A flood of ice and snow roared down the slope directly toward them.

Rey had never seen an avalanche before.

The force curled around her, a warning, _danger_ , heightening as the snow slid faster. The pressure of his blade against her own disappeared. Rey looked at Kylo’s mask and felt their eyes connect from the deeply barricade remnants of their bond. An avalanche was not what was going to take either of them out. 

When she’d been on Ahch-To, Rey had watched a storm roll in while she meditated. Growing up in a desert she’d never learned how to swim but the idea of it both thrilled and terrified her. The storm riled up the waves that crashed against the cliffs with a sound like thunder. Yet, as she meditated, Rey felt calm among it all. Deep beneath the waves, where the storm could not reach, a tiny pocket of peace between the storm of the surface and the dangers of the deep.

She imagined that place to feel quite similar to the force around her now.

The snow thundered, the ground around them was cracked from their battle, and the air around them was charged with crackling fervor. Yet, there was calm for them. Red and blue blades extinguished, they turned as one toward the avalanche. Rey reached out with the force and felt his darkness twist around her light. 

Digging her feet in, Rey braced herself for the weight of the snow. It nearly knocked her down as she tried to stop it with her strength alone. Taking a step back, Rey found her back pressed against _his_. The sheer weight was slightly alleviated as his darkness mingled with her light and he poured his strength into the fight. The avalanche came to a jerky, unnatural stop. Rey breathed heavily, the strain shaking her body. She could feel his heavy breaths and tried to match them.

Together they began to shift the snow aside and Rey couldn’t help how right his darkness felt curling around her, strengthening her. The feeling came from their bond and Rey couldn’t bury it fast enough. It was only because of their mutual danger that they were helping each other.

 _Just like the throne room._ A tiny traitorous voice whispered. No, there had been hope from both of them in the throne room. Now they were nothing more than enemies.

Above them, the fighters kept firing.

Rey did not see which side the ship belonged to, did not see it go down, but she heard it crash behind them.

Crack!

Ice shot through her veins. She felt it, the way the ice fractured from the impact and spiderwebbed toward the weakened ground beneath them. Her hold on the avalanche failed and it roared forward like it had never stopped. The ground fell away. Rey screamed as she fell, reaching for something, anything to grab onto. There was nothing. Not even Ben. Her head slammed against the floor of an ice cavern and Rey saw stars. She could not move to look for Ben, no Kylo. He’d left her to fall.

 _He was next to you._ A slurred voice said. But he wasn’t there now. He had to have escaped unlike her. Rey closed her eyes.

The snow came crashing down.

An ocean churned in a terrible Force storm. Rey found herself pushed out of that small tranquil spot between the surface and the deep. The waves yanked her upward, tossing her about in the force which now raged. There was no surface, not really, not in this twisted chaos.

There was no relief, no pocket of calm for her to breathe. 

Rey felt herself begin to suffocate under the onslaught. She kicked and strained against the chaos, trying to find some semblance of balance. The force had never felt so far away even as it sought to drown her. Exhaustion weighed heavily in her very bones. She reached out and grabbed the smallest tendril of the force, the only one that didn’t slip through her fingers.

 _Please_. She begged it. The tendril was pulled taught, like a string being wound between her and something else. No. Someone else.

 _Ben._ She felt him. Felt his dark and foreboding presence tug at what could only be their bond.

 _Please._ She begged him, forgetting for a moment that he was the enemy. That he would have no qualms with letting her die. He was her only hope in all the chaos. Darkness spread through the bond and wrapped around her like a blanket, a shadowy suffocating blanket to block out everything else. Yet calm spread through her. 

He would not let her drown.

Rey allowed herself to let go and fall into Ben’s dark embrace.

* * *

Kylo came to with a blinding start. Everything ached and something bore down onto him. Breathing hurt and only came with great effort.

Where was he? 

Oh.

The avalanche. Their fight.

_Rey._

His eyes flew open. Around him was nothing but snow and ice. A large slab had fallen over him, its weight crushing and Kylo could feel the telltale pain of fractured ribs. 

Fantastic. 

He pulled at the force, letting his pain fuel his powers and fan the flames his exhaustion had tried to extinguish. It would be a cold day on Mustafar when he let ice of all things keep him down. The slab shifted, lifting off him and Kylo crawled out from underneath it. He let the weight fall, an echo reverberating around the icy caverns he found himself in. Very little light seeped through the low ceiling, barely enough for him to make out the winding paths stretched out to his left, or the massive slope of snow and ice that had come down when they fell. His body shook and Kylo couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or the exhaustion. 

Sleep sounded so good right now.

Something fluttered in the force, weakly brushing against his mind. It came from that place in his mind he so carelessly walled away after the destruction of the Supremacy. The fight and subsequent fall must have shaken him more than he realized if those barriers had come down. 

Their bond flickered.

In the eternal storm of his life, the bond had been his one source of calm. He thought, falsely so, that he could keep the calm and her forever. Now it was only a reminder of the worst pain he had ever felt. Her betrayal.

Kylo sucked in a breath and began to rebuild those walls. The bond fluttered against him again, urgency seeping through the connection. He didn’t know what it wanted. Rey hadn’t fallen with him.

She released the avalanche first. She left him to hold it on his own, something he couldn’t do, and she allowed him to fall alone. Again. His hands had reached out for her and she hadn’t been there. 

Still, her side of the bond brushed against him. Kylo did not have the strength to turn his hurt into anger. The walls he built were fragile, not enough to keep her out. Her force felt like nothing more than a breath against them. It was so different from how she had been two months ago in the throne room. So different from when they fought and worked together. He shook his head to forget how right that had felt.

 _Ben._

He flinched at the name whispered so softly by the fading bond.

Wait…

Fading?

Kylo’s heart stopped. That was the reason behind its weak, fluttering state. Rey was the sun, so bright in her light she could eclipse even his endless dark. Now, she felt more akin to a candle flickering in a thunderstorm. She was fading. The cold only she could fight crept into his heart and seized his breath. No. Maker no.

Kylo stood, letting the ache of living fuel his dark fire. Nothing and no one was allowed to kill Rey. No one but him.

He threw open their bond and reached for the fading light. Diving into the force surrounding her was nothing short of natural. It parted for him to surround her light and even as it’s chaos raged, it dared not stop him. He pulled her force signature toward his own, letting his anger, his pain, his desperation fuel her. No harm would come to her small piece of the force, not while he was there. She relaxed and Kylo fought down the strange emotion bubbling in his chest at the thought of her feeling safe in his hold. 

No, he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted. Rey was only half saved. His use of the force might sustain her, but if she had fallen then she must be trapped under the snow and ice. Kylo needed to find her.

Rey couldn’t die.

 _Think!_ Where would she be? If she fell near him he would’ve known. Her light flickered against him and he held it closer. _Hold on_ he wanted to tell her. He walked around the edge of the snow mound, cursing the rapidly fading light. Briefly, he considered igniting his saber to help him see. But their bond still seemed so fragile and Kylo didn’t know what might break it. He wouldn’t disturb the force unless necessary, not until he found her.

Unlike him, Rey had not fallen near the edge of the mound. 

_Think!_ He snarled. Anger at his inability to execute such a simple yet important task fanned his powers and burned away at the exhaustion. Rey’s light brushed against him. Kylo sucked in a breath.

 _Don’t think, feel._ He hated how much the words sounded like Luke.

Closing his eyes, Kylo prodded at the light in his grasp. He needed it to lead the way to Rey. It flickered, stronger than before and Kylo took that as a good sign. She could handle what he had to do.

Kylo dove further into their bond toward that place he’d only been once before but seen so many times. Unlike his previous infiltration of her mind, she did not fight him. Nothing was barred to him and he knew it was because she lacked the strength to stop him. The thought both thrilled and sickened him. If he wanted to, he could take whatever he wanted from her this time. But that wasn’t what he was here for.

Allowing every stray slurred thought to pass him by, Kylo wound his force around her mind like a string. Under any other circumstances, he knew Rey would hate him to her core for forcing himself so fully into her mind. He didn’t care. Kylo opened his eyes and let their forced and artificial bond lead him toward her body, while his darkness kept guard over their true and precious one. 

It guided him to a slanted slab of ice surrounded by snow. He began to push away the snow with his hands which shook from the effort of him doing too much. Something had to give. Slowly, Klyo unraveled the string he tied between them and retreated from her mind. Next time he managed to get through her walls, Kylo would take all the information he wanted about the Resistance from her.

Untangling them, Kylo continued to dig with renewed vigor.

He found her under a slanted ice slab, tucked within the small pocket of air by only a scant few inches. Perhaps small miracles did exist. 

Kylo grabbed her shoulders and pulled, but Rey didn’t move. Her force signature spiked he felt a distinct flash of pain. Sighing, he clenched his teeth and released her. Okay, he just had to lift the slab. He’d lifted more off himself a few minutes ago. He could do this. For Rey. Gathering his strength, Kylo raised his hands and the force shifted around him. 

Rey’s light fluttered at the change and Kylo held it closer. _Hold on_ he murmured as the slab slowly floated up. He reached for her again and when he pulled at her shoulders she came limply toward him. Kylo dragged her into his lap and released the slab. 

The last time he held her, he’d been taking her back to Star Killer Base to torture her for information on Skywalker. It was then, with their minds intermingled, fighting for control, that he knew there was something truly special about Rey. He felt complete and the foreign calm had given rise to a fierce feeling of possessiveness. She was his since their minds had first touched, and holding her tiny, limp form in his arms made the feeling rear its ugly head once again. 

Kylo shook his head. Now was not the time to focus on that. He had her now and by morning his Knights will have found them. Then he could take her aboard the Finalizer where the Resistance could not reach her. She’d be his. 

A vision flashed in his mind of her rejecting him that day in the throne room. Anger bubbled at the reminder of her betrayal. He gave everything to her, would give the whole universe to her, and she said no. For a moment, he looked down on her prone form and imagined igniting his saber to snuff out her light forever.

The idea was gone as soon as it came and his disgust with himself pushed away the possessiveness. He hadn’t pushed himself so hard to save her just to kill her now.

Tearing a strip of cloth from his cloak, Kylo dabbed at the deep gash on the side of her head. Blood matted her hair and her body shivered violently. She looked a mess and Kylo had never seen anyone so beautiful. Kylo tied the cloth around her head to try and stop the bleeding. He took off his cloak and wrapped her in it. 

That emotion from before rose again in his throat to rest alongside the undercurrent of selfish desire. He released her, letting Rey lay against the snow. Her flame burned far steadier now and he started to pull back. The wave of his desire was pushed low. She would hate everything about the situation they were now in, say he was imposing on her when she was unable to defend herself. 

Kylo hated that idea. He rocked back on his heels and sat on the ice a few feet from her, groaning as the movement jostled his ribs.

The force stirred.

“Ben,” she breathed so softly he thought he imagined it. 

“Rey,” he replied, unsure if she was awake or merely whispering in her dreams. That emotion bubbled up at the thought of her dreaming about him. The force shifted through their bond and he knew she was waking up. Having their bond so open was such a foreign feeling. Closing his eyes, Kylo reigned in his emotions. He had Rey, best not do something to make her hate him more, not when she couldn’t fight back. A few weak walls were thrown up from his side of the bond, his darkness releasing her light, though it hovered nearby. He would give her this small favor until she was healed. After, he would make no promises about what he would do if she refused to help him end the Resistance.

Eyes stared in his direction.

“Where…” she slurred and Kylo cursed. Of course, she had a concussion.

“You were injured in the avalanche, we-” he trailed off as Rey’s force dimmed and she slipped away from consciousness again. She fought against it and Kylo’s lips twitched.

“C-cold,” she murmured, eyes closing. Kylo huffed. Both of them were cold but he tried his best to help her, he gave her his cloak. What more did she want?

“You-you’re cold.” Oh. Kylo hadn’t expected her to recognize that. His own emotions must be bleeding through the bond. Putting up a few more walls, Kylo tried to ignore the bone-deep chill settling in as she was cut off from him once again. 

“Please don’t,” she brushed against his walls and he let them crumble. Kylo knew Rey wasn’t thinking any of this through, knew she would see this as him taking advantage of her. But he couldn’t help the rush of warmth at knowing that she needed him right now. Their open bond warmed the cold sapping his strength. It did not stop her shivers.

Maybe…

The thought passed between them and he felt acceptance from Rey. She couldn’t blame him for this if it helped them both survive. Slowly, he shifted forward. His hands slid under Rey and he pulled her close again, mindful of his ribs and her head. She sighed against his neck, her shivers subsiding as he tucked her against his side. It was like she was made to lay there, the feeling of rightness soothing his other wayward emotions.

“Wish he was here,” Rey sighed. Kylo blinked and nearly pulled back. They were having a moment and she wanted another guy here?  
“Who?” Kylo reigned in his anger when she shivered.

“Ben...wish I could tell ‘im…” she trailed off.

“Tell him what?”

“M sorry. Made a mistake,” what semblance of consciousness she had slipped away. Her end of the bond went dormant, finally settling into a peaceful sleep. Kylo’s mind buzzed. Did she mean? She had to, there was nothing else she could regret. Rey thought rejecting him was a mistake. Maybe...maybe he still had a chance to convince her to join him instead of just locking her away from the world. They could rule together, build an Empire stronger than even his grandfather’s. 

No, he couldn’t get his hopes up. Her wanting to join him and her doing so were two very different things. He had to convince her. When his Knights arrived he would take her to the Finalizer as he planned, as he desired. But she would be his guest, not his prisoner. Show her the power inherent in the role he wanted to give her, make her understand that his vision of them was the best possible future. 

Yes. He would keep her by his side and he would win her heart. He would own her in her entirety. 

Kylo tightened his arms around her.


	2. Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos on this story, it meant a lot! I'm glad you seem to be liking this so far. Hope you enjoy!

**"Nothing burns like the cold." - George R.R. Martin**

* * *

A disturbance in the force roused Kylo from his hazy, cold-induced, half-sleep. He did not move, reaching out to brush against the three familiar force signatures a hundred meters away. Good, his Knights were here. 

_ “Tevani,” _ he called, focusing on the presence of his second in command. Tendrils of darkness from each of them reached for him and Kylo allowed for the connection. They would track his position within minutes.

_ “Kylo,” _ Tevani replied and he could feel her relief. A far quieter chorus of  _ ‘Master’ _ came from the connection with the other Knights. He paid them all little mind, he would be with them in person soon enough and his attention was needed elsewhere. Opening his eyes, Kylo observed the being still encased in his arms. Not once through the long cold night had he released her and he wasn’t intending to change that anytime soon. Her soft breaths brushed against his neck and he clung to them as proof that she was alive. Rey had not moved since he’d taken her into his arms, and while her shivers had subsided her skin was deathly pale.

_ “There is someone with you, _ ” Tevani murmured and Kylo realized that through the connection his Knights had sensed Rey’s small beacon of light in his sea of darkness. He pulled her closer. The Knights were not a threat, he knew that, yet some small part of him didn’t want anyone else near her. Kylo shook his head. She needed medical attention.

_ “Just get down here,” _ Kylo growled. 

He waited for ten minutes while the Knights figured out the best way to break into the ice caves without setting off another disaster. Despite his best efforts to nudge Rey awake, she did not stir. Sighing, Kylo shifted her in his arms and stood. Pain lanced through him, his muscles aching from the cold and strain they’d been put through in the last twelve hours, his ribs screaming at the pressure Rey created. Worry flashed through the Knights but he ignored their quiet questions. Holding Rey tightly, he drew power from the pain and made for the hole being cut in a section of the low hanging roof. 

Adom Ren jumped down to meet them as they arrived. 

“Master,” he bowed his head though Ben knew his eyes were still on Rey through his mask. 

“Adom,” Kylo greeted but gave no other information on the newest member of their party. He force jumped out of the hole, Adom following, and found himself mask to mask with Tevani and Minasa Ren. Rey shuddered in his arms at the cold whipping around them and he drew her closer, hissing as pain shot through his ribs. 

“Adom, is your med kit prepared?” Kylo asked, leading the group toward their ship.

“Of course, Master,” Adom said, walking behind Kylo’s left shoulder. The Knight’s resident medic openly allowed his mask to tilt down to Rey. 

“She will be your first priority and I want a full report on your findings.”

“Yes, Master,” Adom reached for her force signature and Kylo reluctantly pulled back his own.

Entering the ship, Kylo made for the sleeping quarters, Adom following as the others prepared for the journey back to the  _ Finalizer _ . Wordlessly, Adom slid into Kylo’s spot, hovering over Rey when he laid her down. Knowing she would be well cared for, Kylo left, ignoring the instinct to stay by her side. There were two other highly curious Knights on board and he needed to get everyone on the same page before they reached his flagship. He felt the ship jump to hyperspace. 

“I expected a rescue sooner,” Kylo said, taking off his helmet as he entered the cockpit. Tevani and Minasa followed his lead. Rolling her eyes, Tevani scoffed.

“I wasn’t expecting to have to rescue you from a bit of snow,  _ Master _ ,” Minasa laughed at the blatant sarcasm dripping from Tevani’s words. Kylo glared at the only two female Knights, though it held little heat. Taking over the flight controls from Minasa, Kylo settled in and waited for the storm to break. The two were beyond incorrigible. 

“So Master, who’s the girl?” Tevani spoke first. As his second in charge among the Knights, Tevani was often straight to the point with him when their group was alone. 

“Her name is Rey and she is the scavenger Jedi of the Resistance,” Kylo observed their reactions, both facial and through the Force. Unsurprisingly, neither seemed shocked by the revelation. 

“Is she a prisoner?” Minasa asked.

“No,” no, Rey’s words from last night flitted through his mind. “She’s to be my guest, though she will remain under guard for the foreseeable future. The Resistance will crumble easily if she is with us.” 

Adom broke the silence Kylo’s words left, coming to a stop in the doorway.

“The girl is primarily suffering from a moderate concussion, blood loss, and mild hypothermia. She has a few minor cuts and burns, thankfully none of which look infected. I’ve given her a bacta patch for her head wound and will recommend a bacta tank submersion when she wakes up.” 

“And when will that be?” Kylo asked. He didn’t like the words Adom was throwing about, but the man’s stony confidence gave him some assurance that Rey wasn’t on death’s door. 

“It is hard to tell, everyone is different. The hypothermia will probably increase the time. I would guess several hours at least, if not a day.” Adom set down his helmet near the other three, an apathetic air hanging around him. Anger fluttered in Kylo’s stomach at the lack of care Adom showed toward Rey, though it was simply in the man’s nature. Kylo had seen him bring a man tortured to death back to life without a hint of emotion. It was only truly serious when Adom became flustered. For now, the knowledge was enough to assuage his fears. 

They lapsed into a steady silence, broken only to report on the mission progress of the other three Knights. Kylo only paid enough attention to keep Tevani pleased, letting his mind wander to the deck below where Rey slept. Her force signature shone steadily among the numerous dark ones populating the ship, though it was still weak compared to what it could be.

Leaving hyperspace, Kylo replaced his mask and made his way to Rey’s room. Minasa had called ahead for medical staff to meet them in the hanger. Scooping her in his arms, Kylo winced as his ribs protested. Eventually, Adom would want to look at them. That could wait until Rey was taken care of though. Kylo felt the ship descend into its dock on the  _ Finalizer. _

With Tevani and Adom flanking him, Kylo exited the ship, greeted only by Mikata and a small group of medics. He laid Rey on the stretcher and allowed the medics to lead the way to Med-Bay. Mitaka, a newly appointed Captain in charge of managing this area of the starship, followed dutifully behind.

“I want extra guard rotations around this Med-Bay. The girl is to remain under supervision at all times, and I want her to receive treatment for all her injuries.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” Mitaka bowed his head and excused himself from the group.

“ _ Master, you should allow Adom to check your ribs,” _ Tevani said, her masked face staying perfectly still. 

_ “The girl will remain asleep for several more hours and you are exhausted, Master. Unless you intend to sleep in the Med-bay among the medics?”  _ Adom joined their conversation and Kylo wanted to growl. His claim to being Supreme Leader was still being challenged, even if none would dare face him head-on in a fight. Passing out in a random chair in the Med-bay would hardly help his image or his throbbing ribs. Bone-Deep tiredness was creeping through his bones no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

“I’m to be notified as soon as she wakes up,” Kylo barked at the medics who nodded amidst a chorus of ‘yes Supreme Leader’. Growling, Kylo turned down the next hall and made his way to the elevator, Adom following.

* * *

The world was harsh and cold.

Slowly she opened her eyes to a dark room, awareness creeping back to her. Rey’s teeth clenched to hold back a chatter and the action sent shooting pain through her temple. Something warm brushed against her, inky darkness curling around her taking off the chill’s edge. 

Where was she? 

Ignoring the deep ache in her muscles, Rey pushed herself onto her forearms. Her head spun sickeningly, sloshing against whoever was with her. Rey leaned over and threw up bile, the burn bringing tears to her eyes.

Flopping back, Rey allowed the darkness to comfort her, strengthen her until she could open her eyes once again. She fought against its pull to unconsciousness. No. She needed to know where she was first. Determined, Rey pushed herself to sit. Thoughts came slowly to her foggy mind, and she observed the small, freezing, metallic room for several long seconds before it clicked.

A cell. Oh.

There was only one place she could think that would keep her in such sterile imprisonment.

Oh no.

Memories from before flickered in her head. Going with Finn to Echo Base. Seeing  _ him _ , fighting  _ him _ . Then falling alone and nothing. Kylo must have fished her out of the avalanche and brought her here to torture for information. She wouldn’t give in to him. Rey was stronger now then she’d been on Star Killer. She latched onto what Force she could, her awareness sharpening. The darkness coiled around her stirred. Rey froze.

It was dark and deep, an endless sea around her small island of light. It could swallow her whole, yet she felt no hostility. Not yet at least. Her light in the Force was still weak from injuries. The idea of him in her mind, no matter how peaceful he now seemed, made her want to throw up again. 

Rey sucked in a breath, reached for their bond, and slammed the strongest walls she could down on it. The ocean of darkness disappeared and Rey swore she heard a howl of anger, of pain. But her own eclipsed everything else. An icy chill slithered through her veins, seizing her muscles, and sending black spots dancing across her vision. Pain shot through her head and Rey vaguely heard herself cry out. Rey leaned over her metal bed to throw up again, dry heaving as shivers wracked her body. Her vision swam and her ears rang. She fell back and unconsciousness dragged her under.

Rey woke to shouting and the feel of death in the Force. A haze hovered over her mind blotting out all thoughts but one. Kylo was coming for her and his anger burned like wildfire through the Force. She blearily checked her walls against their bond and found them holding firm despite the veritable storm she could sense on the other side, his side. Good. He could torture her all he wanted, she would not break under his wrath. 

Awareness continued to evade her, only his approach kept her from passing out. Rey felt when he finally stopped, so close she could sense the Force bending to him and rolling back out in heated waves. He was speaking, yet his words were jumbled as if they came from underwater and her ears still rang. Even non-Force sensitives must be able to feel how his anger spiked into a boiling rage, the sensation threatened to overwhelm her. Rey whimpered, sluggish imagination already working through all the horrible things he would do to her. 

“Rey,” the word came from next to her head and she flinched back, using every ounce of strength to widen the gap between them. Her eyes struggled to open. She thought she heard him curse. 

“Rey can you get up?” he asked and his voice seemed softer. A trick no doubt, like she didn’t know the true depths of his current hatred. Rey forced her eyes to open. Kylo knelt next to her head, his face an impassive mask, eyes dark and stormy. His question clicked in her head and Rey’s anger reared up. Of course she could do something as simple as get up. No matter how much it pained her, she needed to set a precedent for future torture sessions. 

Rey grit her teeth and forced her sluggish mind into action. Pushing herself up, Rey felt the world tip but she gripped the side of the bed and fought to stay upright. Standing was a different beast though. Large hands reached around her shoulders and under her knees before she could even attempt it.

“Let go of me,” Rey said, panic sharpening her hazy focus. Kylo ignored her and swept out of the cell, the sudden movement sending a wave of dizziness over her. In the corridor outside, two stormtroopers lay dead. The sight left her uneasy. Why did he kill those stormtroopers just to take her to an interrogation cell?

_ He’s a monster _ . Her voice whispered, reminiscent of their conversation on Ahch-To. The words didn’t sit well with her, even if they were the truth. She moved in his hold, twisting against the hands that held her up. Rey wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“Stop moving,” Kylo growled, grip tightening. 

“Let go of me,” Rey repeated. Annoyance and fear helped her latch onto the Force. She pushed against him and he stumbled. He did not release his hold. Dark, endless eyes glared at her and Rey felt the Force seize around her. It froze her in place as he’d done on Starkiller Base. Rey lashed out bet her head was still foggy and her hold on the Force was nothing compared to his iron grasp. The darkness of unconsciousness flowed through his Force grip on her. Rey threw the last of her strength into another wall around her mind. 

He could control her body, but he’d never have her thoughts.

Sleep rushed up to claim her.


End file.
